By |

The release of a new piano syllabus is always met with excitement and interest from piano teachers, and students too, and the latest release from Trinity College London (TCL) will not disappoint.

I have been a fan of TCL’s piano exam syllabus and approach to music exams for a long time. When I was teaching, my students enjoyed the range of repertoire on offer which seemed to suit all tastes and ages, across the grades, and the emphasis on performance rather than technical exercises. From a teaching point of view, I always valued the exercises included as part of each grade’s syllabus, which assist students in understanding and honing techniques which directly relevant to the pieces they were studying.

The new release of Piano Pieces Plus Exercises from TCL encompasses a wider range of styles and genres at every grade than ever before, offering an engaging, imaginative and highly varied selection to satisfy the tastes of any pianist, be they children, teenagers or adult learners. The grade volumes are immediately appealing: the attractive cover has a striking illustration of a grand piano, while inside there is heavyweight cream paper and clear, unfussy engraving. Each volume, colour-coded according to grade (as per previous syllabuses) and available in print and e-book format, includes comprehensive Performance Notes which offer important context to each piece and aspects to consider in learning, interpretating and performing the music. The major addition for 2023 is the ‘Extended Edition’ for each grade, offering a handsome volume of 21 appealing pieces from Baroque to present-day, plus exercises and scales and arpeggios. These are available in addition to the standard exam repertoire books of 12 pieces. The Extended edition also includes access to broadcast quality downloadable demo tracks (via a download code) so that teachers and students may listen to each piece and the exercises, performed by a cohort of well-respected pianists, including Yulina Chaplina, Greg Drott and John Paul Ekins.

In addition to the books, TCL has produced accompanying resources – Theory of Music Workbooks, Introducing Theory and Specimen Aural Tests from 2017 to support teachers and students. Detailed information about these e-books can be accessed via QR codes at the back of the repertoire books.

And what of the repertoire itself? Teachers really appreciate the importance of finding pieces that will encourage students to practice, and – more importantly – enjoy their practising, and also foster a love of music. Variety is key here, I think, and a good selection of repertoire will enable teachers to find the right music to suit each individual student. If students are engaged by the music they are learning, practicing can be enjoyable and stimulating. It is particularly important to provide teenage students with repertoire which they feel is relevant to them and their interests (e.g. pop or video game music). Some of course will want to play pieces by composers from the “core canon”; while others will make more leftfield choices.

And that’s fine, because ultimately we want students to enjoy their piano playing – and it doesn’t matter if they’re playing Bach or Bieber (Justin!), so long as they find pleasure and stimulation in the music.

If the 2021 piano syllabus widened the repertoire boundaries, the 2023 syllabus has extended them even further to include a highly appealing and imaginative range of well-known/popular pieces from:

  • classical composers ranging from Scarlatti, J. S. Bach, Haydn, Schubert and Chopin to Margaret Murray McLeod, Roxana Panufnik and Ludovico Einaudi
  • jazz and Latin artists such as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and Chick Corea
  • pop artists such as Ed Sheeran, Bono, Adele, Coldplay, BTS, and Pharrell Williams
  • films and TV shows such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, La La Land, Doctor Who, and Pokémon, classic Bollywood films such as Woh Kaun Thi? and Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai, and Studio Ghibli films such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke
  • video games such as The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Super Mario Bros

In addition, as in 2021, TCL has commissioned brand new repertoire for every grade from some of the most exciting international contemporary composers, drawing on diverse musical influences from around the world.

The significant inclusion of music by female composers, including Helene de Montgeroult, Dora Pejačević and Florence Price, and those from historically underrepresented backgrounds ensures as diverse a range of repertoire as possible.

Drawing on the success and appeal of their ground-breaking 2021 syllabus, TCL will no longer be retiring repertoire and these volumes will be available indefinitely, offering a rich and ever-expanding repertoire collection, which will, hopefully encourage students to continue performing the music they love for as long as they like. Trinity’s 2021 Piano books will also remain valid for use in exams indefinitely and can be used alongside the new 2023 books, resulting in the largest selection of repertoire yet with 42 pieces across the 2021 and 2023 publications for candidates to choose from.

Appreciative of the wishes of students, and teachers, TCL offers a flexible syllabus, allowing candidates to take their exams in-person or digitally. They may select three pieces from across the syllabus, allowing them to play the music they want to play and demonstrate their own musical identity. There is also the option to play their own composition. To support students and teachers, TCL offers a range of free online resources, produced with professional musicians and educators, to help students develop their performance skills and musical knowledge.

In conclusion, TCL has produced perhaps the most impressive, comprehensive, wide-ranging and appealing piano syllabus yet and one which I am sure both teachers and students will enjoy exploring and playing.

The new piano syllabus is available from 4 September 2023.

For full details of exam entry requirements, and more, please visit TCL’s website: https://www.trinitycollege.com/qualifications/music/grade-exams/piano

Support The Cross-Eyed Pianist

This site is free to access and ad-free, and takes many hours to research, write, and maintain. If you find joy and value in what I do, why not

BUY ME A COFFEE

By |

An Introduction to the Piano – Christopher Northam

Amidst all the recordings of virtuoso repertoire comes this delightful collection aimed at amateurs and piano students from pianist Christopher Northam.

Northam takes us on a chronological journey through some 300 years of keyboard music, from Byrd to Debussy, with plenty of gems of the repertoire, as well as lesser-known works by Pachulski and Alkan.

Although described as music “for beginners”, the selection includes some challenging pieces of cGrade 6 to 8 standard, including Beethoven’s much-loved Für Elise, Field’s Nocturne in B flat and Debussy’s Golliwog’s Cakewalk. Admittedly, these are not necessarily “concert pieces”, but they certainly require a fair degree of technical and artistic facility.

We are so used to high-quality recordings of concert repertoire by leading, acclaimed pianists, it is refreshing to have a selection which is clearly aimed at amateur players. The actor and keen amateur pianist Alistair McGowan attempted something similar a few years ago with his Piano Album, though the music selection was almost as unimaginative as his playing, and I am not convinced by McGowan’s assertion that hearing someone like him playing this music will inspire others (I suspect most aspiring pianists find inspiration in high quality performances, whatever the difficulty of the repertoire). By contrast, Northam treats this music with all the authority, care and commitment one would afford virtuoso repertoire, and performs it as if in a concert rather than strictly pedagogical setting.

Remarkably, the recording was made over 20 years ago at St George’s Bristol, which boasts one of the finest acoustics for piano and chamber music in the UK. Northam’s sensitivity and attention to detail in this crystalline acoustic results in a recording which sounds fresh and immediate.

The amateur piano world is huge, and very supportive of professional players, from whom many amateurs not only drawn inspiration but also receive tuition, in private lessons, masterclasses and summer schools. Yet the amateur world is often barely acknowledged; this excellent contribution from Christopher Northam recognises the importance of amateur pianists while offering inspiration in repertoire which is accessible and achievable. If I have one criticism it is that there is not a single piece by a female composer included in this otherwise excellent selection, but I am told by the manager at the recording label that the music selection was based on the then ABRSM syllabus, which, at the time, included no pieces by women composers.

Recommended

 
An introduction to the Piano is available on the HOXA label distributed via Naxos. Catalogue no. HS950701
bcc207e1-046a-4910-8b9a-88a32ee4e949.jpg